Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-06-10

A ssolid South" is not the most desira.
bic thing to the Democratic heart. 1t is
not wholesome symptom in the Republic
either; it is sign that somewhere in our
national politics there is lack of health,
and the existence of that sectional disease
that should have died with its cause,
slavery. The symptom is deceptive; there
still exists that sectional disease, but not
in the body polite. but in the cast off
clothes of the parties. 1t is to be found
in the Bourbon Republican leaders who
have found it Impossible to get beyond
the issue of the civil war. The solid
South does not exist because of a solid
North, because there is no solid North :;
it exists because there is solid band of
political leaders whose only hope of re-
ta1ning or securing prominence is keeping
alive the fires of the civil war. These
leaders have control of the Republican
party, which instead of shaking them off
and adopting national men in their places,
permits them to lead it up to defeat after
defeat. They are politicians without
o1hSO11OJ hho ddtO ploFOo UdOuioOltCC bO
treacherous thai the Southern States will
listen to none of their promises. Our ex-
perience with Blaine's national. speeches
in his canvass of '84. and his bitter Sec
tional speech at Augusta, Me-, after his
defeat, opened our eyes to the utter insin-
certify of the Republican leaders of this
day.
The candidate looming up for the NOM
ination just now is John Sherman. We give
an extract from his speech at Springfield,
ILL.,, on June 1st. After repeating the
stale campaign SANDER that Cleveland is
now President of the United States by
I virtue of crimes against the elective
franchise, including murder, arson, ballot
box stuffing, forgery and perjury lie
went on to criticise the Presidents favor
ing ex-Confederates. He said:
This administration has emphasized this
feeling IN the most striking manner by an
pointing to the chief offices of the govern
ment, especially in the foreign service, the
most distinguished leaders in the rebel SER
vice. More than majority of all the leading
officers who now represent us in the diploma
tic and consular service abroad are Confed-
crate soldiers or civilians. [ hold in my hand
list OF ninety persons ministers ts,Sr-
suls, secretaries legation, and the like, in
most o. the chief countries of the world. every
ehe OF whom gained his distinction of greater
or lesser degree by service in the Confederate
army or the Confederate cause.
At Nashville, Tenn, but few weeks
ago, one would hardly believe it, but the
same speaker made use of the following
language:
Your people divided on opposite lines and
bore more than your share of the terrible
losses and sacrifices of the war. 1t is over
thank God! but the courage, bravery, and
fortltude of both sides are now the pride and
heritage of us ALL Think not that come here
to reproach any man for the part he took in
that fight. [ did not come to make apologies
nor do ask any of you. mo man in the
North questions the honesty of purpose or the
heroism with which the Confederates main
tanned their cause.
1t is very hard to reconcile these tive
utterances, and still harder when one re-
collects that Secretary Sherman very will
ingly served in Hayes cabinet with one of
these Observation-Disclosures General
Key of Tennessee, a Confederate Colonel
and what is MORE he was Confederate
who had not been converted, but was a
Democratic Senator whom Hayes appoint
ed On Sherman's advice, with view TO
break the "Solid South" while his denun-
citation of the Electoral Commissions de-
cision was still ringing in the ears of the
people. Mr.. Sherman is very much of a
humbug and a trickster.